Few people have jobs that are performed solo, with no supporting cast. From professional athletes to office workers gathered around a water cooler, there is a kinship to others who have the same goals and charges.
Many jobs, even careers, are separated from personal lives and do not define people as individuals. When the workday whistle blows, tasks are left on the table or shoved in a briefcase until the next day.
But when getting dressed for work includes draping a bulletproof vest over your heart, you tend to view things a bit differently.
Many people may view the “blue wall of silence” as some unwritten but organized plan among law-enforcement officers that allows us to act with impunity, knowing our co- workers will turn their head to any misdeeds and questionable actions.
Well, I attest that there is no sinister plot among officers to cover up crimes committed by fellow crime- fighters. What does exist is a natural bond that develops whenever the person next to you may be the deciding factor in whether at the end of the day you go home to family, or to the local morgue.
Because police officers interact daily with strangers who may not have good intentions, wariness becomes ingrained. When surrounded and alone in harm’s way, nothing is more welcome than spying another uniform and badge rushing in to help.
The average citizen cannot understand the inner strength it takes to bury horrendous acts perpetrated by monsters, only to have them resurface in the middle of the night, tangled up in sweat-soaked sheets. Solace and understanding is often found only among other officers.
When someone seeks a career in law enforcement, they must realize it will become who they are. Just like a doctor, we are always in character and expected to respond whenever a problem arises in our presence.
The one thing all officers understand is that we are hated until we are needed. Every action taken may be scrutinized and possibly filmed for the record. Arrest tactics used in controlling a combative suspect or inmate never looks good on TV. A slip of the tongue hurled in disgusted anger, or a reflex response after being punched in the face is often analyzed and judged by folks who have never experienced violence in any form.
Are there crooked and corrupt officers on the job? Of course. No sector of society is exempt from wrong-doers hiding in their midst. Despite strict guidelines, bad officers always fall through the cracks undetected. It is these individuals who become the rotten apples that spoil the whole bunch.
“Internal affairs” is a nasty phrase in any law-enforcement agency. It invokes the same kind of repulsive hatred among officers as a jailhouse snitch does to convicts. But in reality, good cops who take pride in their profession and play by the rules recognize and understand the necessity of a unit responsible for policing the police.
Citizens cringe when they see a cruiser in the rearview mirror, yet anxiously look for the flashing red and blue lights to arrive whenever some criminal act is perpetrated against them.
Justice is a double-edged sword whose meaning changes according to whether you seek it as a victim or are being prosecuted in the name of it.
The message I hope to convey is that people with a gun, badge and authority are still people. We don’t start our shift with the sole intention of making any person’s life harder. If our paths happen to cross in the course of a day, believe me, we are just as wary as you are about what will happen next. You could be someone who wants to kill us one minute, or someone we die trying to protect in another. The “blue wall” is not a code of silence; it is merely the thin, blue chasm between life and death that all officers face every day.
Billie Louden (loudenview@aol.com) is a deputy sheriff and an Army veteran.
